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As insulin costs soar, diabetics say a $35 cap on co-pays is not enough
WASHINGTON — Lacy Mason was a 21-year-old graduate student in Atlanta when she started rationing her insulin. As a Type 1 diabetic, she needs to take insulin every day for survival. But when the cost surged to $960 a month, Mason could no longer afford it. She had aged out of Medicaid and her student […]
U.S. House Ag panel mulls safety net changes in farm bill amid soaring costs
WASHINGTON — Members of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee are considering how to help farmers struggling with rising costs for fertilizer, fuel, seeds and chemicals — the unfortunate harvest of the war in Ukraine, strains on the global supply system, inflation and severe weather. A panel of the committee heard from agricultural economists Thursday, as lawmakers debate […]
Upcoming U.S. Supreme Court cases could curb colleges’ use of affirmative action
WASHINGTON — A U.S. Supreme Court dominated by conservative justices could fundamentally reshape the college admissions process later this year when it takes up two landmark cases challenging affirmative action in higher education. The court recently agreed to hear two cases that challenge race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, the nation’s oldest private and […]
Offshore wind industry leaders ask Congress to back long-term plans to increase production
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is making a significant push for new offshore wind development to meet ambitious climate goals, but industry leaders say they also need long-term commitments and support from Congress to reach their potential. Leaders of the burgeoning U.S. offshore wind industry called on Congress to invest in renewables at a hearing […]
U.S. Senate Republicans again block debate on voting rights legislation
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans blocked the advance of voting rights legislation Wednesday, the second time this year — thwarting again Democrats’ attempts to pass federal protections for voters amid a slew of new state elections laws. “When we are faced with a coordinated effort across our country to limit the freedom to vote, we […]
Democrats seek support services for survivors of American Indian boarding schools
WASHINGTON — Democratic lawmakers are pushing federal agencies to provide support for survivors of and communities affected by American Indian boarding school policies, the decades-long practice of forcibly sending American Indian children to faraway boarding schools that rejected their tribal cultures. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-Kan., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., sent a request this month for the government […]
Endangered species to get a reprieve under Biden administration plans
WASHINGTON — The lesser prairie-chicken, a rare dancing grouse once abundant on the Great Plains, could benefit again soon from the protection of the U.S. government. So could the rusty patched bumblebee, a black-headed pollinator that at one time ranged from Georgia to Maine and across the Midwest. The Biden administration is rewriting how it protects endangered species—making […]
U.S. House Agriculture panel to key in on climate change and farming
WASHINGTON — Democrats are eyeing proposals that would support programs for U.S. farmers—who have suffered catastrophic losses from severe weather events in recent years—to reduce carbon emissions on their land. In his first major policy hearing as House Agriculture Committee chairman, Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.) said Thursday that the issue of climate change would be […]
Environmental justice expected to get more attention in the Biden administration
WASHINGTON — Community activists and some Democratic lawmakers have long sought to give low-income communities more latitude to challenge the cumulative effects from air, water and industrial pollution and climate change. And they expect to have a ready ear in the White House in 2021, unlike the last four years. “We have somebody to talk to […]